EP 0,483,930-B1 discloses a tool for separating a core, a rind and flesh of a fruit, in particular a pineapple. The tool comprises a cylindrical corer which is provided at one end with a cutting edge and at the other end with a handle or other driving member, such as a motor. The tool is characterized in that there is provided, close to the cutting edge of the corer at least one flesh cutter that extends radially thereon, and that is provided with at least one cutting edge. The shape of the flesh cutter is chosen such that upon rotating the tool, it executes a helical movement with a predetermined pitch. At the end of the flesh cutter, opposite the end fixed to the corer, there is provided, at least locally, a rind cutter that extends parallel to the corer and that is provided with at least one cutting edge.
Use of the tool according to EP'930 to bore out a pineapple entails removing an end of the pineapple, driving the tool into the flesh of the pineapple like a corkscrew, and pulling the tool out of the shell to separate the flesh from the rind and the core. The helically cut out string of flesh then rests on the flesh cutter, and around the corer. At this point a user has two alternative options to remove the flesh from the tool.
According to a first option the user may detach the handle from the corer, and subsequently turn the corer upside-down. The flesh will then slide off the corer onto a plate or working surface, on which it may be divided up into segments by suitably cutting it with a knife. According to a second option, the user may use a knife to cut the helical string of flesh lengthwise, i.e. along the axial direction of the corer, while it still rests on the flesh cutter. For preparing sections or chunks of flesh (instead of slices), multiple lengthwise cuts will be necessary, the number of required cuts depending on the desired dimensions of the sections.
Both the first and second option entail drawbacks. The first option, for example, requires the relatively heavy pineapple flesh, which may easily have a mass of 1-3 kg, to be turned. This is somewhat clumsy, and may even be difficult for some people. In addition, cutting the freestanding, slippery and unstable helix of flesh into equally sized and/or shaped chunks is not easy and potentially dangerous. The second option may likewise give rise to dangerous situations because it requires a certain dexterity to controllably apply lengthwise cuts. In particular in case multiple cuts are desired, one might be tempted to hold the flesh with one hand to prevent segments of flesh from sliding relative to each other or falling off the tool, while cutting the flesh with the sharp tip of a knife using the other hand.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or mitigate these drawbacks associated with the tool known from EP'930.